Just Have to Trust
by His Lil' Half-Blood Princess
Summary: Snape never wanted to kill Dumbledore, but he knew that Dumbledore had his own reasons to tell him to do so. He would just have to trust him. One-shot.


_**A/N: At about 12 last night, my computer got all weird and I had to restart it. By the time I had it up and running (which took a LONG time), I decided to go to bed because my eyes hurt and I go to the gym early in the morning and so I decided to write now, the next day. You should be glad I took time out of my day to write something for you to read! I could be working out or going shopping or riding my bike! So, to repay me, you MUST review! (Did you see that coming?) BTW, Lily isn't in this fic at all, her name isn't in it, nothing about her is in it. I am so sick of her!**_

_**This one-shot is dedicated to SeverusSnape19. I was reading 'Tears of an Angel' and it kind of motivated me to do this. It's probably my favorite fic, besides 'Broken', of course. **_

Severus Snape sat at his desk, grading papers. What was the point in grading them anyway? In a few days, he'd be a murderer, not a professor. Before he knew it, he'd be running from this castle, never to return as a free man. He'd have a price over his head, wanted for his blood. There'd be a cell in Azkaban all ready for him. There'd be Aurors searching for him in the night. But they would be wasting his time. He would be hiding with the Dark Lord and the Dark Lord was never caught.

He threw down his quill and stood up, rapidly pacing the room, trying to think. Dumbledore had left the castle tonight with Potter, Potter suspected that he and Draco would try and do something behind Dumbledore's back. _You're wrong Potter, _Snape thought. _I am not business partners with Draco Malfoy, nor is anything going on behind Dumbledore's back. But as for the part of us planning something, though it is individual, it is true. _Dumbledore was getting weaker and weaker. The hand looked like it had been placed in an oven for two hours, burnt and black. He was having trouble walking and was becoming more forgetful. But he was still as strong-willed and remindful as ever. "Remember, Severus," he had been saying for the past week or so. "You must not fail."

Why was it so essential that he not fail?

What did it mean to Dumbledore?

Surely, he didn't care about the Malfoy boy's well-being to _that _extent.

There had to be more.

But, of course, Snape would never know what that more was.

He slammed himself into his chair, angrily, and looked around the room. This year, he hadn't brought much, because he knew by the year's end, he would have to make a rapid leave. The only thing he would bring with him was his wand. He had nearly all his books at home. His robes . . . well, he had a few more, but he would need more. He could just see Minerva and Panoma running into his office and throwing torches on all of his things, burning them, then throwing the ashes into the street. He didn't know if he would miss his office or not. He would have to find out when this was all over.

There was a bang and Snape turned around. There, rushing into his office, was Fillius Flitwick. "Severus!" he gasped. "Severus . . . oh thank goodness!" He stopped to catch his breath.

"Fillius?" he said, standing up and approaching the short man. "What is it?"

"Severus . . . we need you . . . Death Eaters . . . attacking . . . Dark Mark . . . tower . . . . battle, Severus, we need more forces!" He began to catch his breath.

"Of course, of course, I'll go," said Snape. _This is it. I'm a criminal now. Be a criminal. _"But, Fillius, you look exhausted, you can't possibly return to fight!"

"No, no, no, I must . . . really, I must."

"How are you to fight if you cannot even catch your breath? Surely, you need rest."

"No . . . I'm fine . . ."

"I insist," said Snape, pointing his wand at the smaller man, who widened his eyes. _"Stupefy!" _he whispered. The professor fell to the ground. Snape gave him a stare. Looking around his office once more, he swept out.

But he stopped right in front of his door to see Luna Lovegood and Hermione Granger, looking at him. "And what may I ask are you doing here?"

Hermione began to stutter. "Well . . . you . . . see, Professor, we . . ."

"Stop babbling, Miss Granger," he snapped. "If you have nothing to do, than I have a task for you. Professor Flitwick has just collapsed out of breath in my office. I was going to fetch Madame Pomfrey myself, but I must join the battle. And of course," he eyed Luna. "An underage witch cannot go into battle."

"So, we should take care of him?" asked Luna.

"Don't be thick-skulled, girl, yes! Go help him!" The two girls nodded and rushed into his office. Now that they were out of the way, he could go on and do what he had to do. He rushed out of the dungeons and into the main floors of the castle. Now, where was this battle? He listened closely, trying to catch any noise. He heard a crash. A faint bang. A soft scream. It was coming from the Astronomy corridors. He hurried along, following the noise. Flitwick said something about the Dark Mark on a tower. It had to be the Astronomy Tower then. Somebody probably set it off to fool the Order. Dumbledore was up there, most likely.

Then he stopped, dead in his tracks.

He couldn't do this. He couldn't kill. Not again. He hadn't killed for nearly twenty years, and he didn't want to break his streak.

He vowed to himself, when he was 21, that he would never take the life of another again.

He would have never, in his wildest dreams, ever think Dumbledore would make him break that vow.

Then again, he made another vow, didn't he? An Unbreakable Vow. Even if he disobeyed his mentor, there would still be the vow.

Either he died, or Dumbledore died.

_I'll die! Me! I'll die, he can live! Let him live! _A voice went off in his head. He shook it off. Either way, Dumbledore would die. The curse was taking him over. Snape didn't have to go kill him now, he could just leave the school, run away. He didn't have to be the brave one now. He could take the coward's way out this time.

But . . .

Dumbledore told him to do this. He told him to kill him. He told him to obey. Snape knew there had to be a good reason for this. He would have to kill him. He would have to obey him. Not because he didn't have a choice, indeed he did, right now. But he wanted to do this. He wanted to prove to Dumbledore once again that he was loyal and faithful. He hated letting Dumbledore down. He would do it. He would have to trust that what Dumbledore wanted him to do was for the greater good, to help the war. Trust was everything.

He began to walk again, towards the noise. The noise became clearer and clearer. Finally, he reached the Astronomy corridor.

There were flashes of light and bangs and pows coming from every direction. Familiar faces were scrunched up tight in concentration, wanting to defeat their enemy. He saw Minerva, Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley, Pamona, even Madame Hooch. He saw familiar Death Eater faces too. He swished past the crowds, avoiding spells. But it was easy. Both sides thought he was their man, so naturally, both sides, halted for him. He noticed a barrel of some sort, right in front of the staircase to the Astronomy Tower. He approached it and tried walking right through. He felt a sigh of relief as he passed through. Slowly, he ascended up the stairs.

_"You must kill me . . ."_

He would obey.

_"It is a favor . . ."_

He would prove his loyalty, once and for all.

_"Thank you, Severus . . ."_

He knew that if he killed Dumbledore, his life would shatter. He knew everything would change, for everyone. The Order would become more vulnerable. How could killing Dumbledore really help?

He would have to trust him.

He reached the top of the tower. There, was Dumbledore, watching him. There were many Death Eaters too. Snape looked into Dumbledore's eyes.

_"Severus . . ." _came Dumbledore's voice, piercing his mind. _"Thank you for coming."_

_ "Headmaster . . . I . . . I'm going to try . . ."_

_ "Yes, try. Please child, try. I know you can carry through. You're stronger than you think."_

_ "I'm going to . . . er . . . miss you, Headmaster."_

_ "And I as well to you. But perhaps we shall se each other again in the near future. Now do what you came to do."_

"Please Severus, Please," Dumbledore begged. Snape felt all eyes on him. He had the center stage,

_"I'll do it . . . I promise. I'll carry out with everything, the whole plan."_

_ "You are the bravest individual I've ever met, Severus Snape. Never forget that . . ."_

_ "Farewell, Headmaster . . ."_

He pointed his wand at Dumbledore and said, _"Avada Kedavra!" _Dumbledore was blasted back by a shot of green light, throwing off the tower.

And Snape swore his saw that twinkle in his eye appear just as the curse hit him right in the chest.

Was it him saying good luck for what lies ahead?

He didn't know.

He would just have to trust him.

_**A/N: Hope you liked it. I guess this is kind of a sequel to 'Loyalty For Life', but, it's Number 1 of my 20 summer one-shots. So, this is quite a mile-stone. It's a bit short, but oh well. Review please! BYE!**_


End file.
